Top for vehicles



T. H. JONESJ TOP FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 2a, 1929.

Patented Feb. 21, 1922 2 SHEETS-SHEET atbonwq T. H. JONES.

TOP FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28, 1920.

Patnted Feb. 21, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I 314%) 1% or jfiom as ff DSIT S rnones H. Jones, on Iowa.

Tor non viinrotiis.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. J ONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albia, in the county of Monroe and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tops for Vehicles, of

which the following is a specificationr This invention relates to tops for vehicles,

especially motor vehicles, the primary obmay. be folded into the top'when not in use.

A furtherobject is provide a tophaving sliding sashes whichcan be adjustedso as to capacitate as sun shades for the protection of the occupants of'the vehicle;

The above and other obj ects of this invention will be in part described 'and in' part understood from the followingdescription of the presentpreferredembodiment'of the invention takenin connection with the accompanying drawings,'wherein-:i Fig. 1, is a side elevational view of a top constructed .in'accordance with my invention and showing'the sashes closed.

Fig. 2, is a similar view showing the sashes in open position.

Fig. 3, is a transverse sectional view of the device showing one sash in adjusted position, and acting as a sun shade, and the other sash folded completely in the top of the vehicle.

lFig. 4, is a detail fragmentary sectional view of the device.

Fig. 5, is a perspective view of one of the sash frames or skeleton, and

Fig. 6, is a perspective view of one of the complete sashes.

In the drawings, in order to illustrate the application of this invention, a portion of a vehicle bOdy 7 is shown, which may be of the usual or any desired configuration. The body has preferably upstanding therefrom a plurality of posts 8, which may be formed integral with the body or detachably asso- Gitted therewith as found expedient, A

Specification of hettersfatent.

11 to support the latter.

-Patentedi Teb. 2 1,

' Application filed September eaf ege. serialitot i aeaaff equipped with aftransparent panel 10 611 each side. The front of the'body- 'hasthe usual windshield mounted thereon.

' e '6 per se consists ofv an inner'coverrear end" portion 9 is provided which is ing'll made of any desirable fabric,",and an outer covering '12 made of leather, mohair, or other suitable material.- The inner and outercoverings are spacedlto provide a cdmp'artment 13 which is relatively wide. at the lateral marginsthereof-and gradually ta- :pers toward. the center. Bracing struts-i1 4;

extend longitudinally through the compartn1ent'1-3iand are engaged with "the-covering tending struts are provided to sup qrtthe outer covering12, in a wellknown manner, these struts being indicated by the jdotted lines 15 in Fig. 12 of the drawings. .;It will be'observed that the outer covering 12 grad- Transversely' ex- I y p rs towards'the" forward end offtlrf Y Calif)? p po nafter set, forth-" I Each sashjconsistsofa main rectangular frame generally designated 16" and consisting of two-elongated straps 17, oneendof each 'o'fwhi'ch is rounded and bent into an arcuate configuration to provide feet-18, which freely slide againstthe inner face of the outer top'cov'eringf12; 'Braces-19: are

engaged withsaidstrapsadjacent the ends of the'latteri- A circular rodaovis engaged with the opposite ends of said straps 1N0 those 1 comprising theYfeet 18. Preferably these ends are engagedby convolutin'g the strap'terminals aroundsaidrodq" Links 21 V extend outwardly from' said; rod '20 within the convoluted terminals of said straps 17.

The'free ends of thelinks 21 are pivota'lly mounted upon guide plates 22 which are carried on the proximate faces of the posts 7 8. The straps 17 are preferably made of an inherently resilient material, such, for instance, as spring steel, and are wrapped with leatheror the like to give a finished appearance to the sash. Windowpanes are mounted in each of the sashes and are pref erably of a two-part construction. The

lower part, as indicated at 28, is preferably made of an opaque material, such as dark green celluloid, while the upper part 24 is made of 'a transparent material. preferably a plain celluloid, in view of the flexibility of the latter. Flaps 25 are mounted upon the lower ends of the sashes so as to overlap the jointure of the top with the vehicle body to preventthe seepage of water, ingress of an,

or the like. This flap is preferably made of leather and is equipped with a handle 26 by which the sash is conveniently operated. I

In order to facilitate movementof the sashes into the compartment 13, a series of rollers 27 are provided, one being cooperable with'each sash. Each roller is mounted in a pair of suitable brackets28, the latter in turn being detachably secured to the posts; 8--through the .medium of set screws 29, or the like. As will be apparent, upward pressure on the handle 26 will cause the sash to be moved across the rollers 27 and into the compartment 13, in superimposed relation to the struts 14. The inherent flexibility of the sashes will permit their movement into the compartment 18 without difiiculty. In swinging into the compartmentthe sash will travel through the arc of acircle as indicated by the dotted line in Fig.3 of the drawings. hen completely .folded in compartment 113 the links 21 will lie snugly, in engagement with the plates 22.

The sashes are adapted for use also "as sun shades to protect the occupants of the vehicle from the rays of the sun. When it is desired to use the sashes in this way, they are moved upwardly to the position shown on the left side of Fig. 3 of the drawing, and held in this position by. means of a small link 30. One end of said link is pivoted on the guide plate 22 while the opposite end is provided with a stud31, whichengages a corresponding opening 32 in the link 21.

Although one link 30 onlyjhas been described, it is nevertheless to be understood that a pair of these links may be used with each sash if found expedient. When adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 3, it will be apparent that the 'transparent'portion 24 of the sash will lie in the compartment 13, while the opaque portion 23 thereof depends at'an angle from the top 1 2,

so as to lie directly in the pathof-the sun ray'on either side of the vehicle.

From the above it 1s apparent that the sashes may be expeditiously opened or closed presence of two from either the outside or inside of the vehicle. Their flexibility and lightness makes it possible for them to be conveniently stored in the compartment 13 without in any way mutilating the vehicle top. Moreover, the compartment 13 willserve as an air chamber with obvious beneficial results. By tapering the top covering 12 downwardly, a minimum resistance will be offered during travel of the vehicle. Various changes may be made in thedetails of construction, proportion and arrangementof parts within the scope of the appended claims. r V i What is claimed is: 1. A top for vehicles-including a sash equipped with a lower opaquepane and an upper transparent pane, the latter of which lies in the path of vision of the vehicle occupants when the sash is in a vertical position, said sash being slidable into the vehicle slidable in said compartment each of which is equipped with superimposed"transparent and opaque panes said transparent pane being usable when thesash isin a vertical position, independent means for each sash to permit use of the opaque pane only, and feet formed on the upper ends of the sides of each sash for facilitating insertion and removal of the sashes 1n and from said 7 compartment respectively. In testlmony whereof- I witnesses;

, .rHoMAsn. JONES.

affix signature in Witnesses:

THOMAS W. EVANS, GHARLES E. WILSON. 

